# What exactly is the fascination with Homosexuality **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2015, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506 "2015-09-10T11:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/101 "2015-09-14T10:57:55Z")
Who knew? A 25-year old [Jim Carey skit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDJAeABxNU) is based on reality. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/102 "2015-09-15T01:37:47Z")
I saw this Key and Peele sketch for this first time today (“[Gay Wedding Advice](https://youtu.be/rtgY1q0J_TQ)”) and it reminded me of this thread. “When in the ceremony do we sing ‘Over the Rainbow’?” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/103 "2015-09-15T14:06:39Z")
> [@tafowler87](#): > > This dates back to religion and possibly sovereign power. Women are truly those that hate gays. They feel the future holds a gay invasion and probably “forsee” the world failing because of it. Really though gays have walked the earth as long as straights have and just because they now wish to be comfortable in public and not secretive straight people fear that children will no longer have priority. Religion, history, culture, and many other factors tie together why homosexuality is unacceptable or fearful. Its actually interesting, my point of view. I could outline this and explicitly justify each point, but unless you truly want my perspective (can email here) I wish not to excessively reply to this blog post. Don’t worry. Nobody wants your perspective. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/104 "2015-09-15T14:18:52Z")
here in NE, the stereotypical gay male is a good looking young man, who dresses extremely well (designer label clothes). He lives in a town house or apartment in an upscale neighborhood-and his place is adorned with artworks, antiques, designer furniture. he drinks expensive liquors and dines out in chic restaurants. He attends opera and is a frequent museum goer. all in all the exact opposite of a beer swilling redneck. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/105 "2015-09-15T14:21:26Z")
He doesn’t always drink Dos Equis, though. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/106 "2015-09-15T17:10:43Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Out of all the homosexuals I’ve ever known, exactly 0% of them have introduced themselves to me that way. I did it once. To be fair though, it was said to a woman who walked up to me and announced that she wanted me to go to bed with her. Telling her I’m gay seemed the right response. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/107 "2015-09-15T17:23:24Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > here in NE, the stereotypical gay male is a good looking young man, who dresses extremely well (designer label clothes). He lives in a town house or apartment in an upscale neighborhood-and his place is adorned with artworks, antiques, designer furniture. he drinks expensive liquors and dines out in chic restaurants. He attends opera and is a frequent museum goer. > all in all the exact opposite of a beer swilling redneck. What is up with that anyway? The stereotype of gays being good looking, it makes no logical sense. Obliviously all gay men can’t be naturally good looking, maybe they are just more confident about being open about it? ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/108 "2015-09-15T18:20:09Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > IMO it’s taught. All the people I know who are against SSM (or wherever you want to draw the lines) take it back to scripture. \ > > Maybe they’re concerned for your soul! I think people are all sharing one brain and all have the same thoughts , they don’t know how to think for themselves . My dad thought gay people were sick and talked about this and was racist too . I refused to believe my dad and wanted to decide for myself about people and I am glad I did . I had gay friends and a my daughter is Black . Most of my friends are dead now so that is why I said “had” One of daughter’s best friend was gay I became friends with him too. He dies when he was 39 yo from a blood clot a few years ago. He would call me and talked on the phone for hours , I really miss him. I am 68 yo and I don’t get why people are so uptight about same sex marry , I think people would welcome this b/c there money to be made . Look at all the business this would bring and help made gays kids feel better about themselves , it’s disgusting that the churches aren’t thinking of all the kids that being bulled for being and committing suicide ! I can’t stand people being concerned for my soul and blessing me I hate that crap ! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/109 "2015-09-15T18:29:22Z")
> [@tafowler87](#): > > This dates back to religion and possibly sovereign power. Women are truly those that hate gays. They feel the future holds a gay invasion and probably “forsee” the world failing because of it. Really though gays have walked the earth as long as straights have and just because they now wish to be comfortable in public and not secretive straight people fear that children will no longer have priority. Religion, history, culture, and many other factors tie together why homosexuality is unacceptable or fearful. Its actually interesting, my point of view. I could outline this and explicitly justify each point, but unless you truly want my perspective (can email here) I wish not to excessively reply to this blog post. A gay invasion??? **Antinor** , you never said a thing! ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/110 "2015-09-15T19:12:17Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > A gay invasion??? **Antinor** , you never said a thing! I’m sure I mentioned it sometime. Or maybe I got busy planning a brunch…it’s hard to keep up on everything. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/111 "2015-09-15T19:44:17Z")
And here’s me without a thing to wear. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/112 "2015-09-15T22:41:32Z")
> [@BaldDudePeekskill](#): > > I think there is no such thing as homophobia as no one is afraid of us, just repulsed. Point of order: the word _homophobia_ is constructed by analogy to _xenophobia_, [“A deep antipathy to foreigners”](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/230996). Fear is not a necessary component. Phobia as in _arachnophobia_ is a more-or-less independent borrowing of the Greek root; xenophobia comes from politics/journalism while [scary thing]-phobia comes from psychology. In re your question, the parts of American culture that make a big deal out of homosexuality tend to have a strong Us-vs-Them thing going on ([ingroup/outgroup mentality](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingroups_and_outgroups)); there is the Us, who are good, honest, god-fearing people, and there are the Them, who are criminals and deviants and a neverending threat to the Us. At some point, in the 1950’s or so, homosexuality became an important outgroup marker (along with Communism and atheism, later joined by hippies and abortion and now immigrants and Muslims). The increasing acceptance of homosexuality by the general public actually serves to reinforce this form of homophobia, because the Us is outnumbered and surrounded and at dire risk of being overrun by the Them. So it’s not so much anything special about homosexuality in itself, as it is that this topic has been picked up as a central symbol of the culture wars. Also, there is evidence that conservatives as a class tend to have [a stronger disgust response in general](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982214012135) and also tend to be [less open to novelty](http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v10/n10/abs/nn1979.html). If you’ve ever talked to any serious homophobes, they tend to process gay people as defined by homosexual sex, which is unfamiliar and therefore weird and therefore unclean and a source of contamination. The idea that gay people might be “just folks” gets overridden by _eww disgusting sexual perversion_. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/113 "2015-09-16T04:50:01Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > I did it once. To be fair though, it was said to a woman who walked up to me and announced that she wanted me to go to bed with her. Telling her I’m gay seemed the right response. Well you could have at least let her buy you dinner first. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/114 "2015-09-16T05:15:59Z")
I suspect it’s a mix of what \*\*JR Brown \*\*says above, and [ringleaders who are repressed homosexuals](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/homophobes-might-be-hidden-homosexuals/). Note that the linked article says not only that repressed homosexuals tend to have above average homophobia, they also tend to be from authoritarian families, and I suspect that is more common amongst conservatives than liberals. So you have a perfect storm. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/115 "2015-09-16T12:07:18Z")
> [@grude](#): > > What is up with that anyway? The stereotype of gays being good looking, it makes no logical sense. Obliviously all gay men can’t be naturally good looking, maybe they are just more confident about being open about it? How good you look is partly a result of how hard you work at looking good. Men care more about looks than women, in dating. So people who want to attract men try harder. Straight women and gay men tend to look better than lesbians and straight men. They diet more, exercise more, groom more carefully, shop for clothes more carefully. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/116 "2015-09-16T13:28:45Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I suspect it’s a mix of what \*\*JR Brown \*\*says above, and [ringleaders who are repressed homosexuals](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/homophobes-might-be-hidden-homosexuals/). Note that the linked article says not only that repressed homosexuals tend to have above average homophobia, they also tend to be from authoritarian families, and I suspect that is more common amongst conservatives than liberals. So you have a perfect storm. I think the ringleader’s professed homophobia gives them a cover for their obsession, a lot of them are noted by others to be absolutely obsessed with gay porn or gay sex and issues. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/117 "2015-09-16T22:38:32Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Man having sex with a trans woman… Wrong. That’s heterosexual. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/118 "2015-09-16T22:42:11Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Wrong. That’s heterosexual. I think that was his point. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506/119 "2015-09-17T06:00:35Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > here in NE, the stereotypical gay male is a good looking young man, who dresses extremely well (designer label clothes). He lives in a town house or apartment in an upscale neighborhood-and his place is adorned with artworks, antiques, designer furniture. he drinks expensive liquors and dines out in chic restaurants. He attends opera and is a frequent museum goer. > all in all the exact opposite of a beer swilling redneck. That is assuming he has the money to afford all that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-fascination-with-homosexuality/730506.md?page=5)